Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 156 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 28,936 shares of company stock valued at $11,558,971 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $362.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $380.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $379.50.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.